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el•e•phant

Pronunciation: (el'u-funt),[key]—n.,—pl.-phants,(esp. collectively)-phantfor 1.1. either of two large, five-toed pachyderms of the family Elephantidae, characterized by a long, prehensile trunk formed of the nose and upper lip, including Loxodonta africana(African elephant), with enormous flapping ears, two fingerlike projections at the end of the trunk, and ivory tusks, and Elephas maximus(Indian elephant), with smaller ears, one projection at the end of the trunk, and ivory tusks almost exclusively in males: L. africana is threatened; E. maximus is endangered.
2. a representation of this animal, used in the U.S. since 1874 as the emblem of the Republican party.
3. See white elephant.4. Chiefly Brit.a size of drawing or writing paper, 23 × 28 in. (58 × 71 cm). Cf. double elephant.